Sales in Jan.-March declined dropped by 16% from a year earlier 22.9 billion yuan, or $3.7 billion, the company said on Wednesday.E-commerce sales—an area where the company has been making a big, costly push – declined by 27% from a year earlier to $5.3 billion.

Slowing economic growth in China, competitive pressures, and the end of a government policy that encouraged home appliance purchases affected business compared with a year ago, the company said.

China’s traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers have been under pressure from the popularity of online shopping. Suning's rivals include JD.com, which has applied to list in the U.S. and New York-listed Dangdang. Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce company, is expected to list in the U.S. soon.

During the first quarter, Suning closed 32 stores in mainland China, two in Hong Kong and two in Japan. At the same time, it opened 12 new ones in mainland and two stores in Japan, leaving it with a total of 1064 stores at home and aboard.